A 19-0 season? Possible, but not likely

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard the rumblings by now.

Best team in years, possibly the most balanced we've ever seen.

Unstoppable.

Undefeated.

19-0.

Perfect.

If you've been under that rock, return to the shade and coolness it provides. Ignore the hype surrounding the 2017 New England Patriots.

The team certainly won't buy into any of the hyperbole.

Ask anyone involved with the Patriots and they'll tell you the goal is to simply go out and win every week, leading up to a Super Bowl victory. But, as Miami Dolphins fans will tell you, only one team in NFL history has ever accomplished that.

Could this year's loaded Pats do it? Sure. As Kevin Garnett famously quipped, anything is possible. But is it likely? Probably not.

Despite featuring a single game for each team every week, the NFL season is a grind. No amount of game planning -- which New England does better than any other franchise in the league -- can account for a bad bounce, an unexpected turnover or a big injury.

Still, these are the types of things the Patriots have shown they can deal with. Down 25 points in the Super Bowl? No big deal. Tom Brady out for the first four games of the season? Going 3-1 isn't bad. Even with injuries, there's always someone ready to step up, especially on a team with some depth (especially on the offensive side of the ball).

Brady and Co. will be able to hurt a defense in so many ways, it's almost unfair. Points should be in abundance.

And the Patriots defense isn't too shabby either, with a strong secondary headlined by Malcolm Butler, Devon McCourty and Stephon Gilmore and solid linebacking led by Dont'a Hightower.

Bill Belichick has outdone himself.

A perfect campaign -- as predicted by USA Today, among other outlets -- is on the table. But if the Patriots were to slip up, which team on the 2017 schedule would be best equipped to hand New England a loss?

The obvious answers are the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Dec. 17 or the up-and -coming Oakland Raiders in Mexico City on Nov. 19. But are there any upset candidates? Here's a look at a few.

* The New England defense will be tested by New Orleans and Carolina in the first four weeks, but those teams ultimately don't have what it takes to slow down the Patriots. However, the Atlanta Falcons will have revenge on their minds when they bring Matt Ryan and a potent offense to Foxboro on Oct. 22. The Falcons also boast a solid defense and will be looking to gain a small bit of retribution for the memory of collapsing against the Pats in Super Bowl 51.

If the Falcons get out to a lead early, it could spell trouble for the Patriots. But if it's a close contest or New England takes control early, the echoes of the loss in Houston on Feb. 5 will certainly be heard and the hosts could be runaway victors.

That outcome is far more likely than the Patriots falling.

* Playing at Denver on Nov. 12 will be a challenge. Yes, Trevor Siemian will likely be the starting QB for the Broncos and that's not a name that strikes fear in the hearts of defenses, but he's far from the worst quarterback to play in the Mile High City in recent years.

The Broncos defense is still solid, with Von Miller, Brandon Marshall and old friend Aqib Talib shoring up that side of the ball. Critics can argue that a few linchpins of that defense are getting up in years, but as Mr. Brady has shown, age doesn't mean what it once did in the NFL.

And playing at Denver's elevation is always tricky for visiting teams. That's a wild card in the equation. Coming off a bye week, New England will be better prepared than most teams to play in the thin air, but different players react in different ways to the conditions.

* And now for the surprise pick: Dec. 3 at Buffalo. There always seems to be a hiccup in the AFC East. It's not always a loss, but a poor performance or a game that comes perilously close to defeat.

The Bills aren't worldbeaters by any means, but with Miami possibly without quarterback Ryan Tannehill for the entire season and the New York Jets being the New York Jets, Buffalo is the division foe most likely to give the Patriots trouble.

The BIlls have a couple of offensive weapons in LeSean McCoy and Sammy Watkins and now that the team is free of Rex Ryan, it's possible that new head coach Sean McDermott could point the team in the right direction. And Buffalo isn't an easy city to play in, with it's vocal fans and cold weather.

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